Super 14 Rugby to introduce salary cap - Melbourne Rebels firm as favourites for 2011

Well another Anzac day has past where we remember the fallen (including the ones run over during the march.) Anzac Day is for us to remember the Warriors of the past. And its a good thing that we remember the Warriors of the past like the Anzacs as the Warriors of the present have done bugger all since Stacey Jones retired. The local press of course say that the Auckland will never perform while ever they spend under the salary cap.

Brian Waldron has of course subsequently proved what sort of team you can get for the salary cap plus another $700K. Basically it means that a marque player is paid around 400 - 500 K a year while an average first grader is on 200 - 300K a year. So you can basically get an extra 3 to 4 established first graders or upgrade with another 3 marque players. They took option B which has proved mighty successful.

Since then of course the storm have said that every club cheats the cap, But there is a big difference between going over by 10K due to a big injury toll and prolonged, systematic and deliberate cheating, which strangely enough also describes their playing style.

The news that the Melbourne Storm has given former CEO John Ribot his dying wish*, with his final statement at the what in the hell do I have to do to get the club on the Front page. To which the new CEO Brian Waldron replied - Leave it with me.

I find it hard to believe that the players and their managers didn't know. What exactly did they think was happening when they signed their respective contracts twice. The NRL was happily complicit by not looking to hard, after all they would have to get their boss to pay the fine, which of course goes back to the NRL who they own so they will get the money back. How did the NRL think that the Storm could afford to buy Brett Finch halfway through the year when every other club with half of Melbourne's roster said they were already over.

The details provided by to the NRL auditor are largely based on Statutory declarations of earnings, Did the players not notice that the amount they signed for was well over what they put in their tax returns. Brian says he has done nothing wrong - well Brian signing one or say 25 false statutory declarations is an offence - just ask Marcus Enfield.

Still at least now we know why the storm needed so much money to stay afloat when the new independent commission comes in.

The news came as a shock to most Melbournians not least of which was because they finally found out that they had a NRL team. But things don't look good for the club. It has a captive audience of expat New Zealanders and Islanders who would just as happily follow union if they could. When the Melbourne rugby team the rebels come into the comp this will effectively half their ratings thus halve their pay tv earning potential which is the only thing keeping them in the comp.

Until the Rebels come into the comp the Storm are desperately trying to reinvent themselves. Cameron Smith is trying to endear himself to the public by doing as many publicity visits as possible including the one where he went to see Carl Williams the day before he died. Carl I have seen you on TV but you look a lot fatter - geeze mate an exercise bike wouldn't kill ya.

The club is even thinking of ditching the whole storm logo and mascot and going for an animal based logo unique to Australia. I don't know about you but I think its a winner.


Also here is a nice photo of the storm boys where the photographer was having some fun and said "Show us how many premierships you''ve won, everyone understood except for the stodgy prop in the front row who thought they saidhow many grand did you find in your locker this morning"


* John Ribot is not acctually dead - I just wish he was.

Beware The Real Enforcers

Its been a while now and I think I am beginning to miss it. What am I talking about but the drunken rugby 'incident' in rugby league where has it gone. Sure you could argue that isolated incidents have contributed to this lack of head lines, eg Todd Carney is banned from entire towns, clubs have learnt their lessons from past season launches - and or in Cronulla's case no player indiscretions get reported as they simply don't have any players that anyone would recognise.

I think it could be because players are going to pubs where they are friends, and friends don't let friends get caught for such things. At the Tigers there is no chance of any complaints from club owners since Benny 'the door' Ellias bought the club. At the Roosters, John Ibrahim went to the Roosters launch talking about how he has respect for only certain players. How exactly does he get to call the shots about respectable players coming into his clubs. The last time Jarrod Hayne and the Eels boys went to an Ibrahim club they were shot at when they were leaving.

So how is it exactly that he and club owners are now the respectable ones.

Is it just me or does this sound a bit rich, particularly if you believe the underbelly version. Has anyone else been watching this latest season of Under belly. I have been an avid fan in the past but this time around I have been struggling to maintain interest and its not just a result of the lack of SBS style highlights.

The thing that bugs me is what a complete crock the story is. I haven't seen such a complete work of fiction since Ben's last flex sheet, seemingly written entirely by members of the ibrahim family.

John Ibrahim is showing what a hard working local business man he is by going to the rooster season launch and saying how he only respects certain players - and only they would be allowed in his clubs.

In the channel 9 version a hard working honest bouncer works his way up through the ranks to part own his first night club a year after leaving school. In this the channel 9 version it assumes that he saved every pay cheque working as a bouncer and as a bouncer he was paid around $4m a year. Honest John is mentored through the process by hard working honest George Freeman and Lennie Macpherson.

In the police version, George Freeman and Joe Ibrahim never met, Lennie Macpherson was a hitman never seen in public and had long since retired.

I think I preferred the previous versions of underbelly when they base the story on dead people so they couldn't get sued. This one seems to miss some important facts, like the whole thing is about bikie gangs and how they make their money. Sam and Mick Ibrahim were the guys in charge of the Parramatta nomads bikie gang - a gang that Sam joined then became president of.. the same day he joined, no nothing suspicious there officer. We know what bikie gangs are famous for cooking up but you need somewhere to sell it which is where the nightclub comes in. And of course you can't be the licensee of a pub if you have criminal record which is where 17 year old clean skin comes in.

Still I think I can understand why Channel 9 is missing the bikie element to the story, David Gyngell travels by air a lot and he knows that there is a bollard with his name on it if he gets to close to the mark.

Of course the government is attempting to put a lid on things by bringing in some very specific legislation to ban criminal types with middle eastern backgrounds doing shonky deals, Unfortunately this hasn't worked as both Joe Tripoid and Eddie Obeid are both still around.

Still I suppose if we wait for the story to actually end it will be decades old. Much like the first series of underbelly, started a decade ago and still going today. Mind you my theory is that the school accountant had Carl done in, "where are the term one fees, haven't got them then cop that fat boy."

Have you seen what schools charge. Thats the new underbelly - school principals going around knee capping parents for school fees. They are versitile to, they dont charge protection money - they have no refundable registration deposits.
Forget Mick Gatto driving over Melbourne collecting protection money, just imagine the 'Montesori crew' standing over parents range rovers with a baseball bat demanding contributions to the "School Building Fund".